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Are Last Year’s Seeds Still Good?

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Most gardeners store their leftover garden seeds for another year… or two years. Or three. But how many years can you store seeds and still get good germination?

In fact, under perfect conditions, for hundreds of years! There are seed banks, such as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, whose goal is to preserve crop genetic diversity, that store seeds at between -16 and -30˚C… and they estimate that at least some seeds will still be viable in 7,000 years!

Under average home conditions, however, seed viability is much, much shorter. So, supposing you kept last year’s seeds under the cool, dry conditions they prefer, how long can you expect to keep them?

Sorry, there’s no easy answer. Just how long you can store any given seed varies according to the species.

Here therefore are three charts — vegetables, herbs and flowers — that gives you the number of years seeds are still likely to be viable if stored under “average” home conditions.

Vegetables

Arugula – 4 years

Asparagus – 4 years

Beet – 6 years

Broad bean – 5 years

Broccoli – 5 years

Brussels sprout – 5 years

Cabbage – 5 years

Carrot – 4 years

Cauliflower – 5 years

Celeriac- 6 years

Celery – 6 years

Chicory – 4 years

Chinese cabbage – 5 years

Common bean – 3 years

Corn – 2 years

Corn salad – 5 years

Cucumber – 8 years

Eggplant – 6 years

Endive – 4 years

Ground cherry – 10 years

Gumbo – 2 years

Kale – 5 years

Kohlrabi – 5 years

Leek – 3 years

Lettuce – 5 years

Melon – 5 years

Mustard – 4 years

New Zealand Spinach – 3 years

Okra – 2 years

Onion – 2 years

Parsnip – 2 years

Pea – 3 years

Pepper – 4 years

Pumpkin – 6 years

Quinoa – 7 years+

Radish – 5 years

Rutabaga – 5 years

Sorrel – 2 years

Spinach – 4 years

Squash – 6 years

Strawberry – 6 years

Swiss chard- 6 years old

Tomatillo – 3 years

Tomato – 4 years

Turnip – 5 years

Water cress – 5 years

Watermelon – 5 years

Zucchini – 6 years

Herbs

Angelica – 3 months

Basil – 8 years

Borage – 4 years

Caraway – 3 years

Catnip – 3 years

Chamomile – 3 years

Chives- 2 years

Cilantro – 5 years

Coriander – 5 years

Dill – 5 years

Fennel – 4 years

Lavender – 2 years

Lemon balm – 3 years

Mint – 3 years

Mustard – 4 years

Oregano – 1 year

Parsley – 2 years

Rue – 2 years

Sage – 2 years

Sweet marjoram – 1 year

Thyme – 3 years

Flowers

Ageratum – 4 years

Amaranth – 5 years

Aquilegia– 2 years

Baby’s breath – 3 years

Balloon flower – 3 years

Beebalm – 7 years

Black-eyed susan vine – 2 years

Browallia – 3 years

Calendula – 6 years

California poppy – 3 years

California sunflower – 2 years

Canna – 3 years

Carnation – 2 years

Celosia – 4 years

Chinese forget-me-not – 3 years

Chrysanthemum – 5 years

Clarkia – 3 years

Cockscomb – 4 years

Coleus – 2 years

Coreopsis – 2 years

Cosmos – 4 years

Dahlia – 3 years

Datura – 4 years

Delphinium – 1 year

Dusty Miller – 4 years

Evening primrose – 2 years

Flax – 2 years

Flowering tobacco – 5 years

Forget-me-not – 2 years

Four o’clock – 3 years

Foxglove – 2 years

Garden balsam – 6 years

Geranium (annual) – 2 years

Geranium (perennial) – 2 years

Gerbera – 1 year

Globe amaranth – 3 years

Godetia – 3 years

Heliotrope – 2 years

Hollyhock– 3 years

Hyacinth bean – 2 years

Impatiens – 2 years

Joseph’s coat – 5 years

Kochia – 1 year

Larkspur – 2 years

Lavatera – 5 years

Lobelia – 4 years

Love-in-a-mist – 2 years

Love-lies-bleeding– 5 years

Lupin – 2 years

Madagascar periwinkle – 2 years

Marigold – 3 years

Mignonette – 4 years

Monarda – 7 years

Morning glory – 3 years

Moroccan toadflax – 3 years

Nasturtium – 7 years

Nemesia – 3 years

Nicotiana – 5 years

Nigella – 2 years

Pansy – 2 years

Pelargonium – 2 years

Petunia – 3 years

Phacelia – 2 years

Phlox – 2 years

Pink – 2 years

Poppy – 5 years

Portulaca – 3 years

Salpiglossis – 7 years

Salvia – 1 year

Snapdragon – 4 years

Statice – 3 years

Strawflower – 2 years

Summer cypress – 1 year

Sundrops – 2 years

Sunflower 3 years

Sweet alyssum – 4 years

Sweet pea – 3 years

Sweet William – 2 years

Torenia – 2 years

Verbena – 1 year

Vinca – 2 years

Wallflower – 6 years

Wishbone flower – 2 years

Yarrow – 4 years

Zinnia – 6 years

Germination Test

Obviously, the above lists are not exhaustive. If you’re unsure of the viability of any seed, rather than wasting space in the garden on seeds that won’t be germinating, simply do a germination test before you sow. You can find out all about that here.